Chartwell Lecture- 'Winston Churchill the Artist' with Paul Courtenay

2014-01-08 by News, Sports, and Art

Recorded Dec. 3, 2013
Paul Courtenay describes how Winston Churchill came to painting somewhat late in life as a result of his political situation; how his artistic work dovetailed with his political and family activities; and how he approached painting as a gifted amateur.
About the lecturer:
After attending Malvern College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Paul Courtenay was commissioned in The Royal Sussex Regiment (which merged with three others to become The Queen’s Regiment a third of the way into his 35-year career). In this capacity, he served in Germany, the Far East, Gibraltar, Libya, Malta, Aden, Northern Ireland and Cyprus. He also spent three years as a pilot in the Army Air Corps, flying in East Africa, Kuwait and Cyprus. He attended the British Army Staff College at Camberley and the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Va. His final army years were spent as a lieutenant colonel in a series of key staff posts in the U.K. Ministry of Defence.

After leaving the army, he worked in television for two years and then at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in the City of London. His principal interest for many years has been heraldry and he teaches a course in this subject each year. He has been very much involved with the world of Sir Winston Churchill since 1998, first as honorary secretary of the International Churchill Society (UK), then as chairman when it changed its name to The Churchill Centre–UK and now as a member of the centre’s advisory board, as well as a senior editor of Finest Hour.